Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The final week of the regular
season begins on Thursday night under a dark cloud. Days before the
biggest game of the year for the University Prep Wildcats, one of
their best players, junior offensive and defensive tackle, Ne'Ondre
Harbour was shot and killed in Garfield on last Sunday night. He was
standing on the porch of a house on North Aiken Ave with a group of
people, just minding his business when a man walked up to the house
and started firing.

The emphasis of this last
statement is that Mr. Harbour was just minding his business.
He was not doing anything that warranted being shot. He was an
innocent bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He
was described as a good kid who was all about school and playing
football. He wasn't running the streets, or selling drugs or
'cutting up' as the term was used back in the Advocate's day. He was
a victim of a shooting that savagely took away his future, and
devastated a family, a community, and a football team. The Advocate
prays for the soul of Mr. Harbour as well as for his family, friends,
and the University Prep community.

The
Advocate is not one who gets into politics very often, and while he
supports the Second Amendment, giving law-abiding
citizens the right to keep and bear arms, he also believes that there
are just too damn many guns out on the streets and in the wrong
hands. Something has to be done about the senseless gun violence that
is robbing our youth of their innocence and their lives. A kid with
a bright future like Mr. Harbour should be allowed to see that future
without fear of it being snatched away by a coward's bullet.

But
what about Mr. Harbour's teammates? They will be going into their
final game of the regular season against Perry on Friday night
without one of their standout players, and locker room leader. How
will they respond to this tragedy? As of today, the Advocate has
heard nothing about the game being postponed. This game will decide
the regular season title as well as the number one seed for the
playoffs.

U-Prep
shut out winless Westinghouse 45-0 to keep their league record a
perfect 4-0. Myles Caitlin led the Wildcats with three touchdown and
Akil Young passed for 150 yds.

Their
undefeated opponent on Friday night, Perry also won their week 7 game
beating Brashear 24-6. Curtis Edmonds recovered a fumble return and
ran 18 yds for touchdowns and Ahmad Turner and Robert Willie added
scores of their own on the ground to seal the win for the Commodores.

Allderdice
rode to victory over Carrick 32-14 on the back of Patrick Ferguson
who rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns. They will end the
regular season against Brashear on Friday afternoon. The winner of
this game will clinch third place and will play the loser of the
Perry vs U-Prep game in a semifinal game either next Thursday or
Friday night.

Thursday
October 18

7:00pm

Carrick vs Westinghouse

The
one consolation of this game is that one of these teams will not end
the season winless, of course that also means that one of these
teams will end the
season winless. This game could go either way. But because the
Advocate lives in Homewood, he has to go with the Bulldogs.
Westinghouse

Friday
October 19

3:30pm

Allderdice vs Brashear

The
'Dice has had a disappointing 2012 season. Picked by the pundits as
well as Your City League Advocate as the favorites to grab their
first City League title since 1967, the Dragons had the running game,
but couldn't get their passing game going in the games that counted.
This is their last chance to determine their own fate for the
upcoming playoffs. Last year, Allderdice played an undefeated
Brashear Bulls squad in the semifinals and eked out a 6-2 win to go
up against U-Prep for the hardware. As QB Bishop Gethers and RB
Patrick Ferguson are part of a 21 member senior class that will
graduate in June, this may be the 'Dice's last chance to be a playoff
contender for at least a year. If they win, they'll seal up third
place, which will provide only a slightly easier path to the
championship. Brashear has only 10 seniors leaving, and a bunch of
sophomores coming back, so they will be a much better team next year.
The Advocate thinks that the Dragons have just enough to pull out
this win.

Allderdice

7:00pm

University Prep vs Perry

If
this were just another final week of the regular season, with a
regular season title and top seed on the line, U-Prep wouldn't need
any motivation to come out strong against Perry. U-Prep has the No.1
offense and defense in the City League outscoring their opponents by
an average of 39-15. They have a golden opportunity to win a second
straight City League title. But this isn't just another final week.

The
events of last Sunday night will definitely weigh heavily on these young
men's minds. These are high school kids, just about anything can
affect their play, from breaking up with their girlfriend, to passing
or flunking a crucial exam. But the tragic shooting death of a
teammate, especially one who was as instrumental to the teams'
success as a Ne'Ondre Harbour adds a different level of emotions to
the mix. The coaches have to keep these kids focused on the task at
hand, which is facing a very tough Perry squad, but they can't come
across as heartless and cold to their players feelings about their
loss.

The
Advocate would think that Mr. Harbour would want his teammates to
play as they have all season, with their eyes firmly planted on the
goal. And one must remember, these are City League kids. They've
seen and experienced things that their suburban cousins could never
comprehend. Many of them come from broken homes, tragic family
situations and have encountered violence that forces them to grow up
a lot faster than they want to. They are survivors. But the question
is how will they survive. Will they end up on the streets facing a
dead end future, or will they go on to higher education, and work
towards becoming a success for future generations to emulate? That
is the job of the adults in their lives. The coaches, teachers,
counselors and parents.

The
Advocate believes that U-Prep, even without this tragedy befalling
them is the better team. And he also believes that they will honor
the wishes of their teammate, and play in his honor and prevail.